


Tension in The Air

by RealityXIllusion



Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: BAMF Jessica Jones, Danny Rand Protection Squad, Danny Rand has Social Anxiety, Gen, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Hurt Danny Rand, Its made up of the Defenders, Joy Meachum needs to Chill, Misunderstandings, Naive Danny Rand, Oblivious Danny Rand, POV Danny Rand, POV Jessica Jones, POV Luke Cage, POV Matt Murdock, Protective Danny, Protective Luke Cage, The Defenders are also trying their best, Ward Meachum Redemption, Ward is NOT putting up with his family drama any longer, Ward is over this shit, Ward tries his best okay?, mild panic attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-14 20:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19280695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityXIllusion/pseuds/RealityXIllusion
Summary: Danny was not comfortable staying around Joy or Ward, especially not alone. At least with Ward, both of them were trying to fix their old friendship, and Danny knew Ward was sorry for trying to kill him. But Joy... Danny wasn't sure what he felt about her, she tried to have him killed as well, she worked with Davos of all people... She had changed, and it was a change he wanted to stay away from.[Moments when members of the Defenders come across Danny while he is out with Joy and they realize how uncomfortable he is around her. None of them actually know who she or Ward is.]





	1. Matt

**Author's Note:**

> I am watching season two of Iron Fist and I'm pissed at how Joy is treating Danny. Especially since she allowed Davos to influence her behavior. Don't get me wrong, I love her character, but come on!  
> Danny is a smol bean who needs to be loved.

Going out to dinner at some fancy restaurant was not something that he did frequently. Nor was it something he particularly enjoyed, after all, how could he? It was as though with every bite he took of his food all he could taste was the heavy perfume of the woman sitting across the room.

Foggy, Karen and he were only eating here because the owners had come to Matt, asking him to represent their son in court, and after winning that case they offered him a free meal. At first, Matt declined, but when the owners called again to insist he come to eat at their restaurant, Karen had been the one to answer the phone and she agreed.

Things were still odd between the three of them, especially since his supposed death and coming back to life than keeping it secret from them for months. Thankfully though they seemed to move past that, or at least they both chose not to dwell on it 24/7 as they were all talking again and even frequently meeting up with one another.

It was fun, he realized with a startling intensity.

He definitely missed Foggy’s puns and Karen's small jokes, along with the way they both knew without asking what he needed. They could read him like an open book, at first he found it to be unnerving but now… now he was glad for it. He wished that they could go back to the way things were, but Matt knew that wasn't possible. Not after all the mistakes, he's made. He was just glad they decided to give him another chance, though he knew he definitely did not deserve it. It was while Foggy was in the middle of telling Karen about one of his cases he worked for Hogarth, something about a company employee that was caught cheating on his wife with an underage prostitute and how he represented the wife, that Matt was struck with a familiar scent.

That earthly scent with a mix of ash and winter. something he's only ever smelt coming from one person. Danny was here.

Matt frowned, concentrating on the smell as his head tilted towards where Danny’s scent was seemed to be coming from. Now that he had a read on where the man was, Matt focused and was slightly put off by how fast Danny’s heartbeat was, and the way he was gulping every few seconds.

“Matt? Buddy, you good?”

Turning his attention back towards the table, Matt smiled over at Foggy, “I’m fine, Sorry. it’s just…”

What was he supposed to say, that he smelled Danny come into the restaurant, immediately tried to get a read on his body, and didn’t like how his heart seemed to be beating faster than usual almost as if he were scared, or anxious?

“I thought we were past this?” Karen sighed, her utensils clinking together loudly as she set them down, “Matt, you can tell us what’s going on. We understand if it's something... something related to a certain someone.”

Foggy snorted into his drink, causing Matt to relax slightly.

“It’s just… you remember Danny?”

“Danny… as in Danny Rand?” Foggy shared a look with Karen, lowering his voice as he continued, “Yeah man, kinda hard to forget him. You know with the glowing fist and all.”

Matt nodded his head, frowning, “Well… he’s here. Only, his heartbeat is faster than usual. He’s anxious about something.”

Neither of them said a word at first. Matt could hear them shifting around in their chairs and knew without a doubt they were trying to spot where Danny was sitting.

Karen gasped softly, “Oh! Oh, I see him, he’s closer to the front of the restaurant, he’s sitting with some girl. She has one of those big, obnoxious hats on, so I can’t really see her face.”

“Oh damn,” Foggy whistled low, “I can see what you mean by anxious bud, he literally looks like he wants to be anywhere else but there. Plus he keeps tapping his thigh.”

“What are they saying?” Karen asked, leaning closer towards Matt as she dropped her voice down to a whisper.

“You want me to eavesdrop on them?” Matt quirked a brow in her direction, "What happened to respect peoples personal space?"

“Yeah... Well, he’s your friend, we should be prepared to go save him from his date if he's not having a good time, right?” Karen defended herself, though it was a halfhearted excuse.

“He’s dating that girl that was at the station with you guys,” Matt shook his head, “Colleen remember? She’s the one that was carrying around a sword.”

Foggy shrugged as he picked at what was left of his food, “That definitely doesn’t look like Colleen.”

“Okay fine,” Karen smiled, rolling her eyes, “So it’s not a date, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is sitting with some woman and looks extremely uncomfortable around her. I mean, look at him! He has his head down, he won't even look at her face for longer than a few seconds.”

Matt sighed, shaking his head.  It wasn’t just a matter of them wanting him to listen in, though he was curious about what was going on, this was Danny’s privacy he would be invading. The privacy of a fellow vigilante that had not only helped take down the hand but protected his city in his absence.

“O-Oh. Oh crap,” Foggy murmured, “Matt… he looks like he’s going to start crying.”

Matt’s head snapped up, immediately he turned his focus back towards where Danny was at and began listening in to the conversation around him. The couples around them were discussing their jobs, their kids and there was a woman even telling the man she was with that she cheated on him, but Matt ignored all of that. He ignored the sounds of the restaurant workers, the chefs in the back and of the cars outside. Instead, he kept his attention concentrated solely on Danny, whose heartbeat was still beating faster than normal but Matt could hear the way Danny kept shifting in his seat, he could hear the way his leg was bouncing under the table and smell how a thin layer of perspiration was forming as well.

The only thing that brought him a sense of relief was the lack of a salty scent, so while Foggy said Danny may have looked as though he wanted to cry, no tears were actually forthcoming.

“Would you wipe that look off of your face already.” The woman Danny was with scoffed, “It’s unbecoming, and if we’re being honest, annoying as well. You’re a grown man Danny, when are you going to start acting like it? I was just being truthful. You were the one who asked for us to be honest with one another.”

“I’m sorry,” Danny spoke softly.

“So you’ll wear a suit at the office but when we go out to a nice restaurant you decide to go back to dressing like a homeless man?” The woman sighed, “You’re ruining Rand’s image when you do this Daniel. What have I told you about dressing like that? Hasn’t Ward taken you out shopping yet? If he won't do it, you could at least do that yourself.”

“He did… I just, why do I have to wear a suit? I’m not comfort-”

“No one cares if you’re comfortable, they only care if you look the part of a wealthy billionaire.”

Matt flinched as the glass of water he had been holding shattered in his hand. He didn’t even realize how tightly he’d been holding onto it. Noticing the sudden silence that fell over the restaurant, Matt realized that everyone’s attention must’ve been turned on him.

“I’m guessing you heard something you definitely did not like?” Foggy chuckled nervously, reaching over to brush off the shards of glass from Matt’s hand as their waiter rushed over.

“O-Oh shit, Danny’s looking over here. He sees us.” Karen whispered hastily.

"No, uh it's okay," Foggy apologized to the waiter, "Really, we can clean this up. I'm sorry about the mess, my friend has a bit of a tight grip."

Matt heard the scrape of the chair moving backward across the floor as Danny got up from his table. He didn't need his senses to know that Danny was making his way over towards them though he frowned as he took note of how Danny's heart had skipped a beat once he started heading towards them. Matt tensed, not sure how he should act in this situation. The last time he had seen Danny was when he stopped by the dojo to let him know that he was alive. After that, the only time the two of them had a chance to talk was when Jessica had messaged him and ask him to get in touch with Danny because apparently, a client of hers was one of his co-workers' wives.

"Matt?" Danny stood by their table, glancing awkwardly back towards his own.

Matt could hear the woman muttering under her breath of how Danny was wasting her time.

Matt turned his head towards where he could sense Danny stood, "Danny."

"Er… are you… you okay?" Danny shuffled on the stop, "Your hand I mean, or is something happening? Is there a reason why you broke your glass?"

"No, I, I was lost in thought. Wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing." Matt forced a smile on his face, "What are you doing here? Are you out on a date with Colleen?"

Danny's heart jumped before finally settling down, "Oh no, she's back at the Dojo. I'm here with… with an old friend of mine."

He could tell it wasn't a lie but Matt could also sense how that statement alone unsettled Danny.

"Hi Danny," Karen smiled, "It's been a while since we've last seen you."

Danny waved at both Karen and Foggy who grinned, "Yeah, sorry I haven't been around to Josie's."

Matt smirked, "You guys go out to Josie's?"

"Yep," Foggy stuck his tongue out, causing Karen to laugh, "Because Danny here at least agrees to go out with us, unlike you who just stays locked up in his apartment all day."

Placing his hand over his heart, Matt gasped in mock offense, "Well I never."

Matt couldn't help but grin at the giggle Danny tried and failed to muffle. He could tell from the way Karen and Foggy fell silent that they heard Danny and were grinning at him as well.

"Well since we're all here," Foggy gestured around the table, "Do you guys all want to meet up at Josie's later tonight for a drink?"

“Y-”

“No.”

Startled by the sudden voice, all four of them jumped. Danny spun around while Matt quickly got to his feet as the lady Danny had come in with, stood just a foot or so away from them.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Karen asked with false politeness.

"I said no," The woman frowned at them, "Danny will be coming back to my apartment with me. Besides he shouldn't go out drinking on a work night anyway."

"Oh?" Matt forced a smile on his face, "Shouldn't that be up to him to decide?"

“It’s fine,” Danny quickly cut in, smiling at the others, “Joy’s right, I should be serious about my obligations to the company. Maybe I can go out with you guys next time."

"Let's get going."

Matt turned his attention back towards Danny's table. There was a mostly empty plate where the woman, Joy, had been sitting. Matt frowned, she ate something and wanted to leave but it seemed as if Danny didn't eat a single thing. She must have ordered food and ate it while Danny was standing here talking with them.

“R-Right,” Danny stuttered, “I’ll see you guys some other time, yeah?”

Before Matt could say a word or even attempt to get Danny to stay with them, Joy had grabbed Danny by the forearm and was already pulling him away.

“Oooh, I do not like her.” Karen scowled, “Who does she think she is? Danny can speak up for himself.”

“Should we try to stop them or something?” Foggy asked, “I mean, he still looks really uncomfortable around her.”

“...His heart’s still beating fast too…” Matt muttered, frowning.

“Is this,” Foggy lowered his voice to a whisper, “Is this a hero thing? Is she like a bad guy, bad woman or something? Do we need to intervene or cause a distraction?”

“I don’t,” Matt hesitated, “I don’t think so? Danny knows how to handle himself, he wouldn’t voluntarily go somewhere with the enemy, Foggy.”

At least he hoped Danny knew better then to willingly go off with an enemy.

“But what if he doesn’t have a choice?” Karen questioned, “Why does she want him to go to her apartment anyway? And why were they talking about Rand Enterprises? Plus, why the hell was she so touchy-touchy? Pretty sure Danny didn't need her grabbing him like that.”

Tapping his finger against the table, wary of the few bits of broken glass that was still there, Matt hummed to let Karen know he was still listening. Though his thoughts were elsewhere. Why was Danny’s heart beating so fast whenever he was near Joy? He knew it wasn’t because of a crush, not just because Matt knew Danny would never cheat on Colleen but because there was no smell of attraction between the two of them. If anything, it was almost as though Danny was afraid to be left alone with Joy.

Sighing, Matt realized that he would have to let this go, for the moment, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be watching. Maybe it was time he started messaging Danny to at least check in with him, after all, he’s had his number ever since the showdown at Midland Circle. First, he needed to find out more about this Joy woman and just how exactly she’s involved with Danny.


	2. Jessica

While Danny Rand may have grown on her in the months they've known each other, that didn't mean she actively tried to hang out with him or anything. In fact, after the events of Midland Circle they barely even saw or talked to each other. Sure she had his number, he gave it to all of them for “In case of Emergencies”, but Jessica couldn’t care less. She wasn’t getting involved with some sort of superhero team up, they barely made it away from Midland Circle with their lives. She was better off working alone, at least then she knew whatever job she was on would get done.

That’s why when she needed to get in touch with a Rand employee, she messaged Murdock to get in touch with the kid for her. It wasn't that she was worried about having to contact him, but more along the lines of knowing he wouldn't shut up if she called. He'd just keep babbling even after she'd try to hang up on him.

Though it’s been a few weeks since she finished that case, she assumed she wouldn’t need to hear about Rand, both the company and Danny, any time soon but then Murdock just had to contact her. Sighing, Jessica reached over to replay the voicemail Murdock left her.

“Jess it’s Matt. I need you to look into something for me. I’ll pay you if I need to but there’s this woman, Joy, who's been hanging around Danny. Can you find out who she is and what she’s doing around him?”

The voicemail definitely piqued her curiosity but why the hell did Murdock care about whether or not Danny had new arm candy? Though even as she thought that, Jessica knew that wasn’t the case. She’d seen Danny and Colleen together, there was no way he would cheat on her. Plus, listening closely, Murdock actually sounded concerned.

Grumbling under her breath, Jessica pulled out her cellphone and sent Murdock a quick text.

**Standard contract. 50% up front and you pay me the rest when the case is finished. You can sign the paperwork when you get here. -JJ.**

Setting her phone down on her desk, Jessica opened up her laptop and began looking up a few of the more recent news articles involving Rand Enterprises. Surprisingly enough, there didn’t seem to be many articles involving Danny. Most of them were centered around new projects Rand was funding or were old stories of how Danny Rand came back to life.

She thought that at least a few news stations would be more interested in the man himself rather than the company but apparently not.

She sat there at her desk for god knows how long, reading one article after another before she was interrupted by someone knocking at her front door. There were no clients marked for today, Malcolm was intent on keeping the calendar up to date for her, the only person she was expecting to make a stop at her place was Murdock.

"Are you going to let me in or have me stand out here all day?"

Definitely Murdock.

Rolling her eyes, Jessica turned her attention back to her laptop as she called out, "It's already unlocked so just come in."

"You leave it unlocked?"

"Does it matter? Pretty sure I know how to handle myself, counselor."

Murdock frowned, shaking his head slightly as he gently closed the door behind him. He folded up his cane and made his way over towards her desk, sitting down in one of the chairs across from hers.

“So,” Jessica sighed, “You want me looking into the kid?”

“No not Danny specifically, just that woman he’s been with lately. The one I told you about.” 

Jessica hummed, pulling up a few news articles and remembering at the last second that she didn’t need to turn the computer for Murdock to see the screen, “Well I did look into her, I figured I’d start with going to that restaurant you were all at to ask around about her but then I realized I didn’t need to.”

“What do you mean?” Murdock leaned forward just as Jessica muted her laptop but hit play on the news conference, “What are you looking at now?”

“It’s an old press conference, from when Danny first came back to the company.” Jessica frowned at her screen as Murdock stood up, making his way around to her side of the desk, “It’s him, some other guy and a girl as well.”

“What does the girl look like?” Murdock shifted so that he was leaning back against the wall.

Jessica had to bite her lip to keep from telling him to look for himself. It was hard to remember that he was actually blind when he went moving around as though he could see what was or wasn’t in his way. “Oh, that’s just J-Joy Meachum. This the same Joy you wanted me looking into? Can’t be that many girls named Joy hanging around him.”

Murdock frowned, “Joy Meachum? Does she have light brown hair with blonde highlights? Roughly 5’6 or 5’7?” 

“Yep, says here that her and her brother, Ward, own 49% of the company.” Jessica drawled, reading from the updated news article underneath of the old video, “Although she apparently quit, no explanation given. Now it’s just Ward and Danny in charge of everything. The Meachum and Rand Families go way back. It was their fathers that founded the company. How do you even know what she looks like?”

“I had Foggy and Karen describe her appearance to me.”

“Right.” Blowing her hair out of her face, Jessica stood up, “Listen, I’ll keep an eye out. But now you know who she is, she’s probably hanging around the kid to try and get back into the company or something.”

“But why?” Murdock stressed, “If she was the one to quit in the first place, then why is she hanging around Danny? Why not go to her brother?”

“Their family was friends. Not that far of a reach to think they were too.”

Murdock shook his head, “Okay, you have a point. But that doesn’t explain why Danny was so uncomfortable around her. I could sense how anxious he was leaving the restaurant with her. It was as though he didn’t want to be left alone with her.”

Jessica shrugged, “How should I know? There’s probably some tension between them from her leaving. Look, I said I’ll keep an eye out. However, I currently have an appointment I need to get to, so see yourself out, will you? I’ll message you if I find anything important.”

Snatching her jacket off the back of her chair, Jessica pulled it on as she walked past Murdock.

“Jes-”

“No,” Jessica cut in, “No if, and’s or but’s okay? If you’re that worried why don’t you call him or something? Besides, you’ll have to owe me one since I didn’t make you pay anything.”

“Thank you. It doesn’t have to be a favor you know? If you ever need my help, just ask and I’ll come. Also, I tried, he didn’t answer.”

Jessica felt her brow raise without meaning to, “We are talking about the same Danny Rand, right? The kid who wouldn’t stop texting us all. What’d you do, never respond to his messages?”

Murdock shifted his weight from one leg to the other, “...Yes.”

“Wow, and I thought I was the asshole.” Jessica snorted, “At least I answered his first message.”

Murdock shot her a look, though thanks to his glasses she couldn’t tell if he was actually staring at her or not, “His first message was asking if we got his message.”

“Yeah, and I responded. While you ignored him.”

She watched as the muscles in his neck flexed, his entire posture screamed tense the longer they stood there staring at one another.

“....I’ll …I’ll try messaging him again.”

Rolling her eyes, Jessica called over her shoulder as she left her apartment, “Whatever! Just don’t drag me into the texts otherwise he’ll try messaging me!”

Not bothering to stick around for whatever response he would try to come up with, Jessica hastily made her way out to the elevator. Trish wasn't going to let her hear the end of it if she was late to their sister day. Things were still a bit stressed between them but Jessica felt better knowing that both of them did want to patch things up. Malcolm wouldn't let her screw this up, he'd been the one to convince her to go out shopping with Trish today. By the time she made it to the mall, she ended up running a little over 10 minutes late. She knew it wasn't her fault after all Murdock was the one who decided to stay later than planned. Then again it wasn't like she could just go and tell Trish that she was late because Daredevil decided to hang around in her living room.

"Jess!"

Stuffing her hands into her pockets, Jessica turned toward the direction she heard Trish calling for her and grinned, "Hey Trish."

Trish frowned at her as she made her way over, "You're late."

"It's not my fault," Jessica shrugged, "A client stayed later than planned."

"A client?" Trish chuckled, "What are you working on, is it another cheating spouse?"

"More along the lines of a possible gold digger," Jessica hedged, not wanting to go into further detail.

Trish raised her brow at the comment but didn't push, "Okay, well come on. I need to get a new dress for a meeting, want to help me pick out which one I should get?"

"Why not neon yellow?" Jessica smirked, "It'll really make you stand out."

“Oh god no!” Trish laughed, horrified, “There’s no way I’m wearing something like that when the event is formal clothing.”

"Oh come on, it'll look nice!"

"There's no way in hell you're getting me to wear something like that Jess. You'll have better luck convincing me to wear sneakers with my dress."

Chuckling lightly, Jessica followed after Trish as she led them further into the mall towards one of the many clothing stores. For a Thursday evening, there was barely anyone in the mall, something Jessica was glad for. She wasn’t in the mood to put up with screaming children, unruly teenagers, and annoying adults. Large crowds in the mall always lead to people's tempers rising, like hell she'd stand down if someone tried picking a fight with her.

“Let’s look around in this store, there was one dress on their website that I wanted to try on. Plus they have a nice selection we can look through.”

“Lead the way captain.” Jessica mock-saluted, smiling slightly as Trish rolled her eyes and dragged her into the store.

If she was being honest with herself, a lot of the clothing she saw wasn’t half bad. Definitely not her style but there were plenty of outfits here that Trish could pull off. Jessica followed Trish towards the dresses, her eyes automatically looking at the colors as well as designs as she tried to find one that would suit Trish best. There were a few nice cocktail dresses, but the moment she pointed them out Trish was already shaking her head at her.

“No, Jess the dress needs to be more… appropriate. A cocktail dress would look cute for the party but there’s practically no fabric on the front of that thing!”

Jessica raised a brow, grinning, “What’s wrong with that? Maybe you’ll get lucky and score.”

Trish rolled her eyes, blushing slightly, “Very funny. However, I am not searching for a boyfriend at the moment. I’m going to see about getting a few of the other guests to make an appearance on my show.”

“Well if you don’t want to have any fun then I guess that sounds like a blast.” Jessica grimaced, “Tell me there’s at least going to be alcohol.”

“Why? It’s not like you’re going.”

“No,” Jessica grinned, “But I know you, and while you may be doing this for your job, I know that you’ll be bored out of your mind.”

They stood there, staring at one another. Trish was the first to crack, over exaggerating as she groaned in dismay as she leaned onto Jessica’s arm.

“You know you could always come with me? Be my plus one and keep me company?”

“Hell no. I’m not getting stuck in a room with a bunch of stuck up idiots…. You excluded.”

“Thank you for remembering to exclude me from that,” Trish said dryly.

“Hmm,” Jessica pulled a random dress off the rack closest to her, “What about this one?”

“That one says Queen in all caps down the front.”

“What?” Jessica looked the dress over, “Well damn. I didn’t even see that.”

“Just look for something simple, either black or dark blue and please avoid writing or printed designs on it!”

“Fine. Fine.” Jessica muttered, turning and walking further into the store to look at other dresses.

There were a few she was tempted to grab and show Trish but refrained from doing so as she knew it would only annoy her. That didn’t stop her from taking a picture of a SpongeBob dress and sending it to Malcolm. It was as if she was cursed with ironic timing as while she was pushing apart the clothes on the rack to check for any designs that she happened to glance up and see Danny Rand of all people standing a few feet away, looking mildly uncomfortable, and holding onto a pile of clothing.

Frowning, Jessica looked closer, “What’s he doing in a girls clothing store? And why’s he carrying so many damn dresses?”

She stayed hidden behind the clothing rack as she continued watching him. Danny stood there, just letting his gaze wander around the store before sighing and carrying the clothes he had over to the cash register. As she watched him smiled at the cashier, Jessica got her phone out and opened the camera, ready to take a few pictures to look back at later but was kept from doing so as she heard Trish yelling.

Startled, Jessica’s head whipped around to where she last saw Trish heading off too. 

She took one last glance back at Danny, who was now facing where Trish's’ yell had come from with a look of shock on his face. He must’ve been able to see better from his angle because from where she stood Jessica couldn’t even see Trish yet. It was when she noticed how Danny seemed about ready to intervene in whatever was going on, Jessica quickly rushed over to get there first. 

It wasn’t that she was worried about Danny seeing Trish, but for some reason, she still had an urge to try and keep her personal life, and the people she knew separate from the others. 

She made it over just in time to see Trish yanking on a hanger with one hand while the other was twisted in the fabric of the dress. At first, she thought the dress had gotten stuck on something but then Jessica got close enough to hear what Trish was saying.

“Hey! Are you serious right now?” Trish tightened her grasp on the dress as someone on the other side of the rack pulled harshly, “Uh if you can’t tell, someone’s already holding this!”

Whoever was standing on the other side scoffed loudly, and before Jessica could step in to do anything, the person reached through the rack and smacked a thick wallet down against Trish’s knuckles.

Trish let out a startled yelp and quickly let go of the dress as she pulled her hands closer to her body.

Frowning, Jessica grabbed hold of the rack and flung it off to the side out of her way just the person on the other side spun around and began walking away.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” Jessica muttered in disbelief. 

Out of all the people in New York, the one bitch that decided to snatch Trish’s dress away from her just had to be Joy Meachum.

They stood there as Joy walked further away from them at a brisk pace. Not even pausing, or glancing over her shoulder to look at either of them. Jessica found herself hoping that the ridiculous looking heel’s Joy was wearing would break and leave Joy sprawled out on the ground for everyone to see.

More than hoping, it was tempting to knock her down herself.

“What the hell was that about?” Trish asked incredulously, “That was Joy Meachum, wasn’t it? Joy Meachum literally just stole my freaking dress?!”

Scowling heavily, Jessica glared at the back of Joy’s head as she strode away from them, “I’ll get it back.” 

She barely made it two steps before Trish was grabbing her arm and yanking her back.

“Don’t you dare!” Trish whispered, “Don’t get me wrong, I definitely want to teach her a lesson but you do realize she is from one of the richest families in New York right? You can’t just start a fight with her!”

“The hell I can’t! The bitch tore that dress out of your hands! Don't think I didn't see her hit you either! You’re telling me to just let her walk away?”

Trish shook her head, “Jess, trust me. You do not want to start something with her. I’ve heard about people who’ve gotten on her bad side before, you wouldn’t want to get Hogarth involved right?”

“So what?” Jessica gestured over her shoulder, “We’re just going to let little miss primadonna over there take your dress? One you clearly grabbed first?”

“Yes. It won’t just look bad for you if you picked a fight with her. What will people say if a talk show host started an argument over some dress?”

“Uh. Hey Jess!”

Startled, both of them looked up just as Danny began making his way over towards them with multiple stores bags hanging off of both his arms.

“Shit.” Jessica murmured, she had been hoping he wouldn’t see her here.

"I-I'm sorry," Danny smiled sheepishly at them, quickly looking down as he started looking through his bags before apparently finding the one he was looking for. He smiled widely as he held the bag out towards Trish, "I assumed you were the same size, but this dress is already paid for. It’s not the one Joy took from you, but this one has a nice design and similar color. I think it’ll look nice on you, I mean if you want it.  Again, I apologize for the inconvenience."

Trish hesitantly took the bag from him, peeking inside to see a dress somewhat similar to the one Joy had taken from her, the difference being the lighter material and faint hint of sequins near what looked like the top, "A dress? What? You don't… you really don't have to do this. I can find another dress."

While she did seem shocked to see Danny Rand standing in front of her and offering her a dress, Trish at least held her composure enough to keep speaking.

Danny shook his head, "Nope. It's already paid for. The cashier up front already knows that the dress is yours, I told her before I came over, so you don't have to worry about going up front when you're ready to leave. And I really am sorry about Joy she can be a bit… intense at times."

"You mean she's a stuck-up bitch," Jessica said dryly, cutting into the conversation.

"Jessica!" Trish hissed, slapping at her shoulder.

Danny frowned at her and Jessica couldn't help but notice how the look he sent her was… almost as though he were disappointed in her. Scowling, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him.

“...Right, again I am sorry about all of this,” Danny cleared his throat, “I should probably go catch up with her before she notices I’m not behind her. Have a nice day ma’am, goodbye Jessica.”

“Oi-” Before she could say a word, Danny had already taken off jogging out of the store, presumingly to go find Joy.

Like some puppy, tugged by a leash.

“I don’t like her.” Trish muttered, “Your friend shouldn’t have to put up with that attitude either. It’s obvious he was carrying all of her stuff. Did you see how those bags were cutting off his circulation? She could at least carry half of them!”

Jessica scoffed, finally tearing her eyes away from where Danny vanished, having turned a corner, to glance at Trish, “Who says he’s my friend?”

“I’m not blind Jess, I can see the way you look at him. You care about him, just like how you care about Malcolm and me.”

So what if she did, besides it wasn’t as if she was the only one. Murdock definitely gave a damn enough to worry about Joy being near the kid and she bet if she mentioned what was going on to Luke then he’d try to find out what Joy was trying to pull all the while worrying about Danny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So while this didn't exactly show an interaction between Joy and Danny, Jessica's disdain is based on what she learned from Matt, her assumptions on what's going on and how Joy just acted in the store.

**Author's Note:**

> While I have seen the first seasons of DD, IR, JJ, and Defenders I have yet to begin Luke Cage. I do know that Iron Fist is actually fun to watch, I don't know why I listened to what others have said about the show. I'm actually enjoying it.  
> Where I'm going with this is I'm sorry if Luke seems OOC, I'm basing him off of how he was in Defenders and Jessica Jones. Also, I'm purposely making Joy into... a brat.


End file.
